Please help me ID these Dack's?

Corrine

 

I own seven pairs of Dacks. Recently retired a few . These are great shoes that used to be at par with Loakes, Cheaney, Grensons and Barker in respective tiers of those times (pre-2009).  Heres the range (descending order) in terms of quality with a few in between: 

 

Bespoke>>Custom Grade>>Uptown Collection>>Bond Street

 

There were more sophisticated exotic skins models which fell into higher bracket $700 range. Bond street Collection 'made in england inners' were geared toward young collegiates and graduates starting-up. These were the entry level ones.

 

With the innovations in taxidermy (after all they are dead animals mounted on lasts) and more demanding knowledgeable buyers, ergonomics etc etc Dacks cudnt reinvent themselves. I mean how can they compete with Lazlo Vass, Santonis Goodyear, Aldens or similar range shoes. They died a slow but sure death. Very Sad Demise IMHO!!

 

Now we have diet fed calfs, creme treated leathers. fiddle waists, corkless mounts, hidden stitches, antiquing, laser cuts, double soles and what not. So, let your boy have these - but tell him the history to appreciate them especially if he is canadian.

 

 

Cheers   

Let him wear them. If I had a 13 year old son who wanted to wear those there is no way I would discourage him.
Besides.. they only cost $12 even if he is hard on them they will last longer than anything you would pay twice as much for at a discount shoestore.

Maybe this would be a good time to teach him the importance of taking care of nice things.

Dack's Bond Street were not entry level shoes. They are of much higher quality than that.
I don't know from where you are getting your information but it is both poorly stated and incorrect.

not again....no one is contesting the fine quality of these shoes here. it was the pricing which is in question.

 

heres some material for ppl who dont know about Dack's Bond Street Line since 1934-2009(RIP):

http://www.archive.org/stream/trinitycollegesc3716trin/trinitycollegesc3716trin_djvu.txt

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19410829&id=ly0rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tJgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1795,4867666

http://www.archive.org/stream/chstandrewscolle1944stanuoft/chstandrewscolle1944stanuoft_djvu.txt

http://www.archive.org/stream/trinitycollegesc4116trin/trinitycollegesc4116trin_djvu.txt

 

That line was meant to be "easy on the pocket" 'Up-and-coming younger men' 'well dressed college men'

 

heres the more exotic one:

 

http://www.mainstreetvintage.com/listingview.php?num=7128&ref=1

 

bespoke one:

http://www.styleforum.net/t/273260/price-cut-dacks-churchs-bespoke-custom-grade-wingtips

 

We have to consider the source of this information you have posted.

Personally, I own roughly 20 pairs of Dack's shoes. This in no way makes me the Dack's expert.
Let's look at this line you quoted:
Bespoke>>Custom Grade>>Uptown Collection>>Bond Street

The use of the 'Greater than (>) symbol requires clarification from the original Author or someone who worked at Dack's.
If we are to assume the symbol was used intentionally, then the hierchy of price and quality based on that list would be:

• Bespoke
• Custom Grade
• Uptown Collection
• Bond Street

In front of me I have a pair of Dack's Bond Street Double Sole Longwings in Bison that are marked 'Made In England' .
The workmanship is exquisite both inside and out.
We know that Dack's higher end were made for them by Church's and then later Cheaney. (When that change occured I am uncertain).
Now, according to your quoted hierchy list, my Bond Street pair, made in England, falls on the lowest rung of the ladder, and this is why I challenge the list.
The Made In England shoes, be it Curch's or Cheaney rebrands, were the top of what Dack's offered and not the bottom.
Dack's 'Custom Grade' were made in their New Brunswick factory in Canada.

I believe the Hierchy list should read:

• Bespoke (Information needed)
• Bond Street (Church's Made in England)
• Custom Grade (Made In New Brunswick Canada)
• Uptown Collection (Made in Toronto Canada-King Street Factory)(The 'Entry Level' series)

I also believe that after some corporate restructuring took place, the 4 aforementioned 'series' names were dropped and changed to:

• Dack's (rebranded Cheaneys Made in England)
• Dack's Anniversary Series (1834-1984)(Made in Canada)(Trethewey Drive Factory-Toronto)
• Dack's (Made in Canada)(Trethewey Drive Factory-Toronto)
• Dack's (Made in Mexico)

This probably stayed as such until the company's demise.

This, all of this is not an attempt to argue but to clarify on history and heirchy levels.
The overall consensus that I have observed here on the forum is that Dack's shoes were of good to excellent quality.
When I have more time I am going to photo my Dack's shoes and post them.
What we really need is someone who worked at Dack's and hopefully would have also a Corporate Profile or Corporate History booklet because I myself would like to get all of this information verified for posterity.

I'm from the UK but I've never heard of Dack's shoes. It could be that they've been made in the UK by a manufacturer and Dack's have had their logo put on for sale in North America. In other words they have been made to order. They are good quality shoes though and I suspect Dack's are a prestige brand over the pond?

You would be correct. The UK manufacturers made them to order for Dack's of Canada so unlikely they would have been made available in the UK under the Dack's name.
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